The Best Of Merry Clayton (CD)

Merry Clayton

Amoeba Review

07/08/2013

Though some artists don’t get their due, sometimes one moment shines through enough so that no one who hears it ever forgets it. For Merry Clayton, that’s her shattering performance on the Rolling Stones’ “Gimme Shelter,” on which she completely upstages Mick Jagger with her guttural cry. Clayton’s own lesser-known solo material is now being compiled for The Best of Merry Clayton, spurred by the excellent documentary 20 Feed From Stardom, featuring Clayton and other prominent backup singers of the ’60s and ’70s. Clayton herself picked the songs that make up this collection from her years of recordings, including a soulful rendition of “Southern Man” by Neil Young, for whom she sang backup on his self-titled album. Minus Young’s plaintive wail and given her unbridled voice, “Southern Man” becomes a defiant reclaiming of the racial criticism in the original, as Clayton growls “don’t forget what your good book said.” Other highlights include a gospel-style version of “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” a Lou Adler-produced, Motown-style take on “Suspicious Minds” and, of course, Clayton’s solo version of “Gimme Shelter,” which sees her voice deeper than on the original in a horn-laden funk spiritual. Covering decades of styles and genres, The Best of Merry Clayton does well at showcasing a should-have-been star with pipes that could rouse the dead.